The Persistence of Opioid Use Following Surgical Admission: An Australian Single-Site Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Acute pain is common following surgery, with opioids frequently employed in its management. Studies indicate that commencing an opioid during a hospital admission increases the likelihood of long-term use. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of opioid persistence amongst opioid-naïve patients following surgery as well as the indication for use.

Does prescribing of immediate release oxycodone by emergency medicine physicians result in persistence of Schedule 8 opioids following discharge?

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of oxycodone immediate release (IR) prescribed during an ED admission and the persistence of Schedule 8 (S8) opioids following an ED admission.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional audit was undertaken reviewing all admission at the ED of the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, between 1 August and 30 September 2016. The admissions lists for ED were cross matched with the narcotic registers for oxycodone IR (the most commonly supplied S8 in ED) to identify how many patients received IR oxycodone during their ED admissions.

Ipratropium treatment of acute airways disease.

Objective: To examine the use of ipratropium bromide in adults with acute exacerbation of either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during admission and at discharge from 3 teaching hospitals.

Methods: An extensive range of clinical and demographic data was retrospectively extracted from the medical records of consecutive patients aged >/=12 years admitted to the medical wards of the hospitals during 1999-2001 with acute exacerbations of asthma or COPD, either as a primary diagnosis or as a major comorbidity.

Results: Data were gathered for 302 patients (97 with asthma, 205 with COPD).